“And by the time we got there, they were long gone.”

Zugzwang slowly walked in a circle across the bedroom floor, intently studying the black and white chessboard pattern beneath him as Star Watcher continued delivering his report over the radio set. He chewed intently on the cigarette in his mouth.

Damn them all, damn them all! Failures and cowards, all of them! Unable to finish as simple a task as this!

“Master, with respect, I think you need to get everypony out of there,” his apprentice continued, a tone of concern in his voice. “The Abbey’s compromised now, and you’re not up for another attack.”

“We’re already evacuating, Star,” Zugzwang snapped. “We’re teleporting everypony to the safehouses and to the crystal caverns.”

“Oh, good.” There was a long pause. “Master...if you’ll forgive my asking...why didn’t we just kill them?”

“A fair question,” Zugzwang admitted, pausing. “The answer is because if I had merely killed them, they would’ve become martyrs, dying for a cause. But were I to break them and show them to the world, to prove to the citizens that the heroes that they rely upon could be shattered as easily as they, that would kill their hope and resistance, the true targets of our campaign.”

“I see,” Star replied slowly. “But once we regroup, what then?”

Zugzwang closed his eyes and took a long breath, steadying himself. He looked over to the four-poster bed. The memory of his conquest surfaced in his mind, and his mouth watered as he remembered Phillip writhing beneath him.

The game had changed drastically from his original plans, the few pieces that remained now spread out across the board. He imagined the white queen, now safely surrounded by their pawns, with the white knight out in the vanguard. And he imagined himself, the black king, waiting on the opposite side of the board. With Nevermore and many of his most zealous followers dead, he had lost a number of his more valuable pieces.

But the situation was not hopeless; in truth, little had changed. He still had his two bishops: the plague to keep the citizens in fear, and the dome to prevent any escape or outside interference. His army still controlled the streets. And though his captives had escaped, the damage had been done, particularly to Phillip.

All this really called for was an advancement of the timetable.

"Prepare the escape tunnels, just in case this goes wrong," Zugzwang instructed. "Should I fall, I will need you to take up my reins.”

“Understood. And Master…”

“Ja?”

“...good luck.”

Zugzwang adjusted his tie. “Luck will have nothing to do with it, Star. Dismissed.”

The radio clicked off. Zugzwang stood still for a moment, then turned to the cabinet on the wall and extracted a bottle of beerenauslese. Pouring himself a glass, he took a long, final drink of the chilled liquid, closing his eyes to enhance the flavor of the grapes as it washed down his throat.

“Zugzwang?”

He looked up at the familiar voice. Scarlet Letter was standing on the threshold of his room. She was still wearing the mask of the quietly composed, dignified noblemare that she had constructed for herself long ago, but there were already cracks in the porcelain; her emerald green eyes were dulled with exhaustion and fear and she frequently licked her dry, cracking lips. A sleeping Crimson Prince was huddled up to her chest, held in a pale red blanket.

“What is it, Scarlet?” he growled. He didn't have time for her.

“Are you sure of this?” Scarlet asked in a soft voice. “This plan…”

“I have been planning this for well over a year,” Zugzwang replied curtly. "You have never questioned me before; why should you know?"

Scarlet cowered, clutching her son to her chest. "Th-that's not what I—"

"Silence!" Zugzwang barked, whirling on her. She flinched and took two paces back, trembling as she clutched her stirring and whimpering son to her chest. "All that matters now is that I get Phillip Finder to come to me so that I may finally dispatch him! I must end this game on my terms, do you understand?!"

Scarlet nodded rapidly, closing her eyes tight rather than look at him. Zugzwang turned away and took a slow breath to calm himself.

“You need not fear," he added in a softer voice, stepping forward and looking at her intently. "Whatever happens, you and our son will be taken care of.”

Scarlet blinked, then leaned forward and kissed him gently. He kissed her back, but the embrace had none of the sweetness that it used to carry, and she let go very quickly.

“Madame, it is time to go,” Laurier called, approaching. She was laden with a number of saddlebags and was carrying a teleportation crystal in her magic.

“Are we the last ones?” Scarlet asked.

“Oui, madame,” Laurier nodded. “Everypony else has already teleported out.” She turned to Zugzwang. “I checked the traps. All of them are working. Any Guards that attempt to raid the Abbey are in for a very rude awakening.” A smirk spread across her face; the surprise in question involved several tons of explosives planted at key points in the ancient stone structure.

“Gut,” Zugzwang nodded. “Now, you must get to the safehouse. And remember: remain in hiding until I tell you it is safe to come out, but be prepared to take the escape tunnel.”

“Yes, my love,” Scarlet nodded, her voice quivering for one brief moment. She gave him one last kiss, then stood close to Laurier. Her loyal maid took the glowing blue teleportation crystal out of its protective shielding and tossed it up into the air. There was a hum and a crackling of blue lightning, then the mares and the colt vanished from sight.

Zugzwang stared at the empty spot where they had been standing for a moment, then turned and picked up the black shards of crystal and white chalk that had been sitting patiently on the desk, sweeping them into the drawstring pouch that he wore around his neck. He tucked the pouch beneath his suit and plucked his own teleportation crystal out of his pocket. He was about to throw it up into the air when he noticed the radio set out of the corner of his eye.

He should probably say something to his soldiers. They would be concerned and afraid; he’d need to keep them on his side. He strode over to the radio and clicked it on, tuning the channel so that all of his soldiers would hear him. He paused for a moment, summoning up the words that he would need, and then spoke.

“Mein freunds,” he began, knowing that the ear of every of his surviving underlings would be turned towards him, looking for guidance. “I know it looks dark now. I know it seems that we have failed.

“But I promise you, this is not over. We still control the streets. We still control this city. We are the power here!” He conjured up the false emotion, adding the proper inflections to his voice to mimic passion and vigor. “I promised that we would see the citizens of this city, those prim and proper ponies who look down on and misalign us cower at our hooves, and we will! I promised that we would wreak our vengeance upon the so-called heroes who denied us what was ours, and we will! Stick by me, my soldiers; remember your orders, and we will see victory!”

He paused here, deliberately enhancing the drama of his performance, taking a breath even as every listening ear held theirs. And then he spoke again, biting into every syllable with all of his hate, all of his fury. “Soon, we will avenge our fallen brothers and sisters, and we will avenge every injustice that they inflicted upon us! Soon, there shall be a great cry in all Equestria, such as never has been and never will be again!”

He exhaled, allowing the persona he had adopted to evaporate following his performance, then clicked the radio off. Taking out his teleportation crystal, he tossed it up into the air. As the blue energy swirled and crackled around him, he took one final look at the four-poster bed, noting the pale white stains on the crimson sheets.

It’s time, mein liebling.

Daring lay completely still on the white sheets of the infirmary bed, a breathing tube inserted down her throat and her chest wrapped tight in bandages. The only indication that she still lived was the slow, feeble beeping of the heart monitor and the occasional gurgling inhalation. The carved crystal necklace that she had recovered lay on the table next to her.

Phillip stared silently at her still form from the bed to her left, barely moving even as Carina gently wrapped bandages soaked in curative salves around the burns on his skin. Talitha and a team of medics were tending to the other ponies, who were each sprawled on one of the various infirmary beds. The same medic that had treating Daring was now properly curing the slash on Twilight’s leg with a healing spell. Spike, who had thrown himself into Twilight’s hooves as soon as she arrived, was currently curled up in her embrace. Twilight was gently stroking his head, trying to comfort him.

Unfortunately, nothing that any of the medics or mages could summon had any effect on the crystals that were piercing their horns and wings. “I’m sorry, Your Highness,” a mage reported, hanging his head. “But it looks like for now, you and your friends won’t be able to fly or use magic.”

“We shall cope,” Celestia nodded numbly, her hollow-sounding words echoing dully in the infirmary. Luna was huddled up against her on the bed, held gently in her elder sister’s embrace, deep asleep.

The sound of running hoofsteps announced the entrance of Twilight Velvet and Night Light, who immediately raced over to Shining Armor.

“I’m—ow! I’m okay, mom!” Shining protested as his mother flung her arms around him, embracing him with an iron-like grip. Night Light hugged his son more gently, and then his daughter.

There was a shuffle of motion at the door and Celestia looked up to see Cintamani Stone entering the infirmary. Her roving eyes paused to examine her daughters, then continued scanning the room, instinctively searching for the stallion that she knew was not there.

“Cintamani,” Celestia said, raising her head. “I’m so sorry—”

Cintamani raised a hoof and closed her eyes, taking a moment to compose herself. “Just tell me,” she asked in a quiet voice, as if afraid that she would break if she spoke too loudly. “Did he die doing his duty?”

Celestia paused for a moment, then closed her eyes and slowly nodded. “He saved our lives,” she replied. “If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be here.”

Cintamani swallowed and opened her eyes. “Then...then he…” She blinked several times and fell silent. Talitha and Carina finished their tasks and walked over to their mother. The mares slowly exited the room, but the heavy atmosphere they had created lingered behind them.

Spike slowly looked up. “What do we do now?”

Before anypony could answer his question, Lieutenant Strider entered the room and saluted Shining Armor. The pegasus looked as though he had aged about ten years since they had left; deep bags were carved beneath his eyes and a thick beard was growing on his jaw. “Your Highness, we’re picking up a signal over the radio. I...I think it’s Zugzwang,” he reported.

Shining managed to wiggle out of his mother’s embrace and followed Strider out of the room. Phillip and Celestia followed after him. As they approached the communications room, they passed by the lobby, where several rescued civilians were resting. As the Princess passed by, every head turned to follow her. Murmurs chased after her like the hissing of dozens of snakes, soft and suspicious. Celestia seemed to deflate a little bit as they passed, her head lowering slightly.

They reached the communication room, where Sergeant Barker was busily tuning the radio set. A voice could be heard through the speakers, quietly singing:

"Du, du liegst mir im Herzen
du, du liegst mir im Sinn.
Du, du machst mir viel Schmerzen…"

“That’s Zugzwang,” Phillip confirmed dully.

“His voice is echoing a bit,” Shining observed.

“Might be interference,” Barker muttered as he twisted a dial on the set. “I’ve almost got the signal.”

"Hear me, Canterlot. My name is Zugzwang.”

The voice boomed in the ears of every pony in the city, no longer coming from just the radio’s speakers, but from the air itself. Every mare, stallion, and foal in Canterlot stopped where they were and looked up. The Precinct fell silent as their captor continued his address.

“As some of you may remember, before the sky fell, I arranged for several of your citizens to be infected with the Blood Plague. I have a weapon that will spread the plague throughout this city. Many of you will die in great pain and fear, and the few of you that survive will be hunted down and executed by my army. And once this city has been purged of every mare, stallion, and foal, we will move on to the rest of Equestria.

“There is only one thing that will prevent this destruction. If Princess Celestia and Princess Luna die by your hooves by midnight, this city will live.”

Every pony in the precinct drew breath as one. The Guards all turned to Celestia. The Princess refused to react to this news. The clock over their heads revealed that they had just under an hour and a half to make their decision.

“You have until midnight to decide,” Zugzwang repeated. “And now, I turn to you, Phillip Finder.”

Every head now turned to face Phillip. He stared at the radio set, unmoving and silent.

“Here we are at last. The ending of our Immortal Game; the black king sits waiting, while the white queen and the two bishops are surrounded by their pawns, and the white knight out in front. But this is where it ends for all of us.

“For too long, you have allowed innocent ponies to die in your name. For too long, you’ve hid behind better ponies than you and sacrificed them so that our game could continue. Consider this: the only reason your friends are here is because of you, because you dragged them along with you so they could die. The truth is, if you truly wanted to end this game, you could have hunted me down any time you liked. But you found it preferable to thrust your pawns out in front of you, sacrificing themselves so that you could keep pretending that you’re a hero.”

Phillip did not move, did not react. He forced himself to go numb, even as the words washed into his ears and down into his gut.

“So if you really want to end this, come and face me, alone. I’m waiting at the sixth prime, where earth ponies can fly,” Zugzwang dared. “But remember...don't be late.” And with that, he signed off, leaving a cold silence in his wake.

Phillip, Shining Armor, and Celestia all looked at one another, then turned and headed back to the infirmary, with Sergeant Barker following behind.

The others looked up at their entrance. “You heard?” Celestia asked.

“We did,” Flash confirmed, getting up off the bed despite the medic’s protests. “We need to find out where the bomb is, now.” He turned to Phillip. “Did Zugzwang tell you anything about where it was?” Phillip shook his head. “He did say that Pyrophoric was the one who placed the bomb.”

“Which means he had to have placed it before we got here. Probably the day before,” Flash said, pacing in a circle. “But where?”

“A bomb large enough to infect the entire city would have to be big,” Twilight commented.

“And Alk said that they were working on methods of aerosol delivery,” Flash continued. “He’d have to place it somewhere where it wouldn’t draw attention, where it wouldn’t be noticed for a while...someplace that he wouldn’t draw attention to himself…”

A spark suddenly flashed in the back of Phillip’s mind. “Professor Cintamani said that he showed up at the university the day before he was killed, even though he was on tenure.”

“And remember what his wife overheard him saying on the phone?” Flash cut in, suddenly excited. “‘I can put it there while it’s being painted!’ He was talking about the bomb!”

“And there’s a section of Seaspray Hall in the university that was closed off for painting,” Phillip added, his face brightening slightly.

“That’s it!” Flash cried, a genuine smile crossing his face for the first time in days. “We need to get over there and disarm it!” He immediately sprang up and started to rush out of the room.

“Hold it,” Shining Armor said, reaching out a foreleg and stopping Flash in his tracks.

“Shining, we need to go!” Flash protested.

“We do,” Shining nodded. “But not alone. Let’s put together a team of Guards to escort us there.” He half-grinned and tussled Flash’s mane. “Like I’m going to let you and Twilight die before you can give Flurry some cousins to play with.”

“I’ll gather up volunteers!” Sergeant Barker said, snapping off a salute as he ran out of the infirmary.

Twilight sprang up from her bed. “Who else is coming?”

"No, wait!" Fluttershy cried out. "It's too dangerous out there! Why can't we just let the Guards do it?"

"Sorry, Fluttershy, but I can't just sit here and wait," Rainbow Dash declared, jumping up and facing Twilight. "I'm going with you."

"I'm with you," Applejack added.

"But...but you almost died out there!" Fluttershy cried, grasping Applejack's tail to try to stop her from leaving. Frightened tears shimmered in her eyes. "What if you don't come back? I don't want to lose any of you!"

Applejack laid a reassuring hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, trying to smile at her. "Don't you worry none. I promise we'll all come back safe and sound, sugarcube," she said. "And you can trust me to keep my promises, right?"

Fluttershy whimpered, but slowly let go of Applejack's tail. She abruptly flung her arms around Applejack's shoulders and hugged her tightly. Applejack hugged her back, gently patting her on the back, but then gently released her.

"Just be careful," Fluttershy whimpered.

"We will," Applejack promised.

Phillip didn’t look around, his eyes on Daring. Flash stepped up and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

“Be careful, Flash,” Phillip muttered.

“I will,” Flash said, hugging his father gently. Phillip did not respond, as though he had been replaced with a paper-mache version of himself. Flash let go reluctantly.

Sergeant Barker poked his head back into the infirmary. “Sir, I’ve got a team all set to go.”

Twilight gave Spike one last hug and kiss. “We’ll be back soon,” she promised, her words sounding hollow.

“Good luck, all of you,” Celestia called as Twilight, Flash, Shining Armor, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash exited, following Barker. The silence after they left was palatable in the air; it tasted bitter and cold, like recently-stirred dust. Phillip settled on the bed next to Daring, continuing to watch her still form. He slowly reached out a hoof and squeezed hers. She did not respond.

"Don't look so glum, Fluttershy," Pinkie declared, trying to cheer her up. "They'll be back, you know it!"

Fluttershy sighed despondently and laid her head between her hooves. "I hope they do." She shuffled the sheets between her hooves. "Maybe...maybe I should've gone with them. Maybe..."

"There is no shame in staying behind, Fluttershy," Celestia reassured her. "We have all gone through a great deal. Nopony can blame you for deciding that you've had enough."

Luna moaned and began to stir in her sister's embrace. Celestia gently stroked her mane, humming quietly into her ear, and Luna fell still once more.

Celestia sighed. "I wish to apologize to all of you," she declared. "I should not have asked you to come. The only reason that you are here is because I asked you to."

"You asked us to," Rarity cut in. "We could have said no if we wished. We came here because we wanted to help."

"And look where that got you," Celestia said bitterly.

"Hey, enough with that kind of talk," Pinkie answered. "It's not your fault that we were captured, maimed, and nearly killed." Fluttershy and Celestia both flinched. "It's Zugzwang's fault," Pinkie continued, an uncharacteristically bitter tone in her voice. "He's the one who did all of this. Blame him, not yourselves."

Celestia nodded. "Yes. I suppose that's true."

Spike looked up and turned to Phillip, who had remained still and silent throughout this. “But what about Zugzwang?” he asked quietly.

“What about him?” Phillip replied dully.

“Don’t you know where he is?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. “You once told me that Zugzwang simply cannot resist being clever and testing you. Surely, he must have left you some clue as to where he is.”

Phillip was silent for a few moments, then slowly nodded. “Yes. He told me where he is.”

“Then why aren’t you going to him?” Rarity asked.

“Because…” Phil’s voice caught in his throat. He slowly turned to see Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Celestia, and Spike looking evenly back at him. The concern in their eyes burned into him, and he was unable to meet their gaze.

“Because I…” he started to say again.

And then something plunged deep into his core. Something hot and hard was ripping into him, tearing him apart from the inside out. He couldn’t move: his hooves were bound. He couldn’t breathe: something was covering his mouth, sucking out his breath, sucking out his life. Hooves stroked his chest and sides, the icy touch freezing his bones and his blood. He was laughing at him, mocking his inability, as he tore a hole in his soul and drained him of everything.

He couldn’t. He couldn’t. Oh, God, he couldn’t. He clutched the sheets of the bed, struggling for air. Tears burned at his eyes and flowed freely down his face.

He heard hoofsteps rush over to him. “Phillip?”

The voice was like a lifeline cast into the sea that he was drowning in, and he struggled towards it. A figure dropped down next to him, and a wing was gently draped over his shoulders.

“It’s all right, Phillip,” Fluttershy whispered, nestling against him. “You’re okay.”

He looked up and met her blue eyes through his tears. “Just take deep breaths,” she instructed gently, taking his hoof in both of her own. Her warm touch revived him a little, and her voice became clearer in his ears. “Count with me,” she instructed, taking in a slow breath. “One...two...three…” He followed her rhythm, breathing in slow and deep, focusing on nothing but her gentle gaze, the softness of her wing blanketed over him, and the warmth of her hooves. The scents of cotton candy and lavender perfume breezed into his senses, then a pair of short, scaly arms wrapped around him. Bit by bit, his friends pulled him out of the nightmare, and he softly fell back into the present.

“It’s all right to be scared,” Fluttershy reassured him, gently wiping away his tears. “It’s all right to cry. You can still be brave.” He wept more, but his tears were gradually slowing.

“Hey,” Pinkie suddenly spoke, perking up a little. “You know what we’re going to do when we get back to Ponyville?”

“A party?” Spike asked with a knowing smile.

“A party,” Pinkie confirmed with a nod. “And there’ll be cake and ice cream, and apples from Sweet Apple Acres...Rainbow will do a show where she’ll show of all kinds of new tricks, and maybe we can get Fluttershy and Rarity and the the Ponytones to sing for us…”

She continued on for a while, and Phillip allowed her words to wash over him, like a river carrying him downstream to a more pleasant place than this. Images danced before his eyes: a chess game in the park with Time Turner. A long night in the castle library, talking over theories on science or discussing past cases with Twilight and Flash. Laying on Rain Breeze’s comfortable couch during a weekly appointment, then joining Zipline and Flash for a late night cider at the Midnight Oil. Sparring in the fields of Sweet Apple Acres with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, then helping bring in the fall harvest. Waking up to Daring’s voice, gently shaking him back from pleasant dreams.

These and dozens of other memories flowed before him, and he soaked them in. A warmth trickled into him, filling up the void that Zugzwang had carved into him. Hope. Friendship. Love. They burned away the chill of his fear, of his pain. Slowly, he was able to feel again. The strength that had left him returned to his bones.

“Better now?” Fluttershy asked with a small smile.

Phillip took a final slow, shuddering breath and allowed himself to relax as the last of his tears fell. He looked up at the opposite bed and saw Celestia smiling supportingly at him. "Thank you," he breathed. The friends remained in the embrace for a minute of silence, then Phillip spoke once more.

“I have to go to him.”

“You don’t have to,” Celestia replied softly. “You could choose to stay here.”

He looked back at her evenly. “We all know that’s not a choice.”

Celestia sighed and nodded as Phillip rose off the bed. “Phillip?”

He paused. “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Please, there is no need for that now,” Celestia said. “I just wanted to say...thank you. For all you’ve done.”

“You don’t have to,” Phillip mumbled.

Celestia sighed and looked around for a moment. “There are many things in my life that I wish I could forget. And one of those things is a group of refugees who had just lost everything in a fire.”

“You were kind, Celestia,” Phillip said hoarsely.

She looked back at him. “Be strong, Phillip. You are not alone. You never were.”

He swallowed and looked over at Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike, the faith shining in their eyes. He looked at Daring, still fighting for life.

“Thank you,” he said, holding all of their gazes. “For everything.”

"Wait," Spike suddenly called. He picked up the carved crystal pendant from the table, and walked over to Phillip, handing it to him. "Take this with you," he insisted quietly.

Phillip took the crystal and lifted it over his head, dropping it onto his shoulders. It was fairly heavy, but not too heavy, its touch surprisingly warm as it bounced against his chest.

"Thanks, Spike," he whispered, briefly draping a foreleg over Spike.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Spike offered.

"No," Phillip replied. "You'll be safe here." He paused again. "I'm...I'm sorry for leaving like this. I know you're all frightened—"

"Don't," Rarity interrupted, raising a hoof. "This is who you are, Phillip; you fight the bad guys. And you do it for us." She smiled at him.

He nodded. There was nothing more to say. “Goodbye,” he said, and turned and walked out, grateful that he had no more tears to cry.

He walked past the hallways and lobbies of Guards and citizens, through a sea of fearful whispers and murmurs, and descended the stairs into the armory. Striding to the walls of armor, he selected a large golden chestpiece for himself. It had been many years since he had donned a set of Royal Guard armor, but it felt wonderful upon his skin, like the embrace of an old friend. He then selected a broadsword from the wall and pulled it down to test its weight. It was a well-crafted weapon: perfectly balanced, heavy enough to cut through bone and flesh with ease, but light enough for agile usage. He stored it in the sheath and holstered it at his side, adding a thrusting dagger, a .38 revolver and three speedloaders to his belt.

He glanced down at his watch. Already thirty minutes had passed. He would need to hurry if he were to reach Zugzwang’s hiding place. Sprinting up the stairs, he turned to a nearby exit door and pushed it open, exiting out into the snowy streets. The storms had fortunately subsided, but the air was just as cold as normal. Turning to face west, he began to run through the streets, the armor and his weapons clanging along with him as he ran.

He reached a gate blocking the road, manned by a squad of Guards that looked up at his approach. “Let me out,” he ordered them quietly.

The Guards hesitated for a moment, then one of them pushed the gate open enough for him to exit. He exited into the empty, dark street, and the gate shut behind him. Without pausing to catch breath, he kept running, his mind racing as fast as his hooves.

The reference to earth ponies flying, and the loud echoes of his voice during the transmission, had suggested that he was waiting at the airship docks on the borders of Canterlot. And the clue “sixth prime” could only refer to the sixth prime number, 13. Zugzwang was waiting for him at Warehouse 13, where Nevermore had abducted Celestia many months ago. The former doctor has subjected the Princess to a variety of chemical tortures in an attempt to drive her mad.

And now Zugzwang was there, waiting to kill him.

He took another breath and thought of his family, feeling the weight of the crystal necklace against his chest. He thought of home. He thought of all that he fought for, that he loved and was loved by in return. He carried them with him as he ran, his heart beating in his own ears.

The team reached the dark and empty campus of St. Megan’s. Even days after the initial bombing, smoke still wafted from the shells of the buildings, the acrid taste lingering in the air.

The Guards moved up to the doors of Seaspray Hall, which were still hanging open. The hallway inside was dark and silent. Clicking on their flashlights, the ponies entered the hall, filtering past the receptionist desk and into the halls of classrooms.

“This way,” Shining Armor called, following a sign that read “Wet Paint.” They ducked beneath a rope stretched across a hallway and continued, checking every room they passed.

“What exactly are we looking for?” a mare Guard asked, sweeping an empty classroom.

“It’d have to be something big and out of place,” Flash said.

“Guys? I think I found it!” Applejack called, looking behind a tarp that was stretched over a set of scaffolding. The cold wind blowing in through the large, broken windows made the tarp flutter and Applejack shiver slightly.

Sergeant Barker pulled the tarp down to reveal a section of an interior wall that had been broken open. A metal black box about the size of a large duffel bag was sitting on the ground, with several tools lying discarded beside it. It had several vents on the sides, and what looked like a large, deflated balloon attached to it. A trio of glass vials filled with a bubbling pale green liquid were set into the box.

“What is that?” Shining Armor asked.

“It’s an artificial cloud machine,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ve seen a few of them at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory; they use them to stop droughts or wildfires. The balloon inflates and carries the machine up into the air, then it uses the chemicals to create several rain clouds.”

“Looks like Mix hid the parts inside the wall, then broke it open to build it,” Sergeant Barker commented.

“The Blood Plague,” Twilight breathed, staring at the tubes, then turning to look out the window. “Remade to be absorbed through the skin, and turned into a low cloud that covers Canterlot, coming in through every door, every window, every gap…” She gulped.

“Then let’s get them out of there,” Applejack declared. She reached forward and tried to pull one of the tubes out.

“Applejack, no!” Flash and Twilight both shouted, but it was too late. As soon as Applejack touched the vials, they glowed with a golden magical energy and Applejack drew away with a shout of pain.

A ball of golden energy burst from the box and landed on the floor, where it blossomed into a chessboard of solid golden light. The light and dark pieces stood in rows, waiting for somepony to take command.

The ponies all stared at the board for a moment, then Twilight sighed. “Of course. He just can’t resist being clever.” She walked forward and sat down behind the rows of light pieces.

“Twilight,” Flash asked slowly. “Are you sure?”

“What choice do we have?” Twilight replied, her eyes on the board. She raised her hoof, hesitated for a moment longer, then boldly thrust one of her pawns out. The opposing dark pawn shifted forward to meet her.

“Let’s play.”

“Dammit, Polaris,” Lieutenant Strider whispered, bending over the map of Canterlot in the communication room. “Why’d you have to go?” Wiping his eyes with his wing, he exited the room. The gazes of the Guards under his command followed him.

He passed by the lobby, where several citizens were sitting and talking. A burst of angry chatter tore into his ears and he paused to listen.

“Zhere is no reason we all must die!” Fleur de Lis was saying, pacing the room in great agitation. Her thin, sickly build and her disarrayed mane and tail spoke of the torment she had gone under.

“Ms. de Lis, think of what you’re saying!” Twilight Velvet protested.

“I am thinking of what I am saying!” Fleur snapped back. “I am thinking of us all not dying!”

Murmurs of both agreement and dissent rose up amidst the other ponies. It didn’t take a detective for Strider to figure out what they were talking about.

He pulled aside two passing Guards. “We need to protect the Princesses. Put a rotating shift of Guards in front of the infirmary.” Both of the Guards nodded and followed him to the infirmary, where Celestia and Luna were both waiting.

Luna, who had woken up, looked around at their entry. “What is happening?”

“Nothing, Your Highness,” Strider said, hoping that his voice was reassuring enough. “You just...you need to stay here for now.”

He looked up at the clock on the wall, mercilessly ticking away towards midnight, and tried to remember how to pray.

Author's Notes:

The game is finally coming to an end.

To the last pony standing.